Profit results help market beyond 5,000 barrier

Some positive profit results have helped the Australian share market jump what some considered a psychological hurdle to rise above 5,000 points.

The All Ordinaries index rose 43 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 5,025 while the ASX 200 index gained 45 points to 5,004.

Before this week the All Ords had not hit 5,000 for nearly two years, while the ASX 200 had waited since April 2010 to hit the mark.

Healthy profit results helped boost the market, led by a $3.66 billion first-half net profit for the Commonwealth Bank.

The CBA's retail division helped it lift profit by 1 per cent over the same time a year earlier.

Commonwealth chief executive Ian Narev also defended the bank's recent decisions to pass on only some of the recent cuts to the official interest rate, saying it was impossible to keep mortgage holders, depositors and shareholders happy.

CBA shares rose 2.4 per cent on the result, and also helped boost other banking stocks.